Conversations
by MsRaven
Summary: Rated for some language. Post-Ep for Suspicion. Sheppard has some necessary conversations and decides what he wants.
1. Elizabeth

**Conversations**

**Summary:** Post-Ep for Suspicion. Sheppard has some necessary conversations and decides what he wants. Weir/Sheppard.

**Spoilers: **Everything up to Suspicion

**Disclaimer:** Stargate Atlantis and its characters do not belong to me, I'm just borrowing them. I promise to give them back the same way as I got them...mostly.

**Author's Notes:** Total fluff. It didn't start off as a shippy story, but I couldn't help myself. Hope you like it.

Major John Sheppard walks out of his quarters, starts to turn left toward the Jumper bay, sees Dr. Weir approaching, and turns to walk in the other direction.

"Major Sheppard? Could I talk to you for a second?"

_Damn. _

He was hoping to pretend that he didn't see her, but stops walking and turns around.

"Can it wait? I promised Teyla I'd take her to the mainland."

"Actually, I'd like to speak to you now. I promise it won't take long."

Sheppard's jaw clenches – clearly impatient to move on. Weir walks over to stand in front of him with her hands behind her back. She is the picture of patience as she ignores his apparent discomfort.

He has a feeling he does not want to have this conversation now or ever. But the hallway is empty and he has no opportunity for a rescue. Teyla should be waiting for him at the Jumper bay. The halls of Atlantis weren't as busy now that the Athosians had moved to the mainland. Being reminded of that fact made Sheppard's jaw clench even tighter.

"Fine." He bites back at Weir. "What do you want to talk about?"

"You're still angry." A statement, not a question. Only a slight tilt of her head gives away any possible emotion and he can't quite figure out if it's confusion or disbelief.

_Of course I'm still angry!!_

"What would I be angry about?"

Weir's shoulders slump a little and he catches what looks like disappointment flash in her eyes for a split-second before the "boss mask" falls back into place. She moves to clasp her hands in front of her. Sheppard can almost see her struggle not to cross her arms in front of her defensively.

"I think that, given time, we'll see that this is the best arrangement for the Athosians. They weren't meant to be confined to a city. Even one like Atlantis."

"So throwing them out of Atlantis was your way of trying to _help_ them?"

"Let's get this straight. I – did – not – throw – _anyone _out of Atlantis. Yet."

Her voice had turned to steel and Sheppard had to marvel how she managed to yell at him without raising her voice. He almost flinches. The lightly veiled threat is received loud and clear. He had heard about how she had brought Kavanagh down a few pegs, but never expected to be on the receiving end of an ass chewing. He knew she was right. The Athosians he'd taken over to the mainland had almost swooned at being back on solid, non-floating dirt.

_Not that I'd admit that to her._

"Fine. But it's not like you begged for them to stay."

"No. I didn't."

_Hah! She admits it._

"I will honestly admit that it was a convenient solution to a bad situation."

_Damn her for being mature._

"But you have to admit that it really is the best solution for both us and them."

"No. I don't." _Great. Way to go for mature there Sheppard. You might as well have started stomping you foot, covered your ears, and gone waaaah. She looks like she's trying not to laugh at you._

"John..."

_Oh no. She hardly ever uses my first name for a good reason._

"I know you want Teyla to be happy, which means being with her people. But the Athosians really do seem happy to be someplace where they can grow crops and be outside and..."

He stops listening.

_Just what was everyone's fixation on Teyla? What does Teyla being happy have to do with the Athosians being on the mainland? What was she implying?_

"What the does this have to do with Teyla?!"

Weir looks startled at his interruption of the why-the-mainland-is-good list.

"Excuse me?"

"WHAT THE HELL DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH TEYLA? WHY IS EVERYONE ACCUSING ME OF NOT THINKING CLEARLY WHEN IT COMES TO HER?"

"Because you're not."

"WHAT ARE –"

She holds up her hand to silence him and he instinctually shuts up.

"Major Sheppard. If you insist on screaming at me, may I suggest we at least go into your quarters so that the rest of Atlantis can be spared the argument?"

_I was not screaming. Yelling, maybe, but I do not scream. McKay screams, not me._

"That won't be necessary."

She raises an eyebrow like she doesn't believe him, but stays where she is.

"I understand that you and Teyla are...close. I understand that you want to protect her but..."

"Of course I want to protect her. She's on my team."

Weir gives him the eyebrow raise again, then nods.

"Okay. Your teammates, all of them, are important to you."

_Why do I think she's just placating me?_

"But there was a definite security hole in Atlantis and it needed to be found."

Sheppard opens his mouth to retort, but Weir holds up her hand again.

"Please. Let me finish." Sheppard closes his mouth and nods at her to continue.

"There was reasonable evidence that Teyla was why your team kept getting ambushed. It wasn't fair for Teyla to be accused of being a spy, but it also wasn't fair for you to question Sgt. Bates who was just trying to do his job. In the end, you were both right."

"I suppose." Sheppard wasn't quite ready to let his anger go yet.

"This time, I agreed with you. I could not see Teyla intentionally helping the Wraith. I commend your loyalty to your..._team_. Your trust was well placed. However, _I_ also trust that _you_ will place the same importance on your broader responsibility to all of Atlantis."

Sheppard opens and closes his mouth a few times, not really knowing how to respond. He knows that was a warning. A well deserved warning. He hadn't wanted to accept the possibility of Teyla being the mole. But he could have been wrong. What if he had been wrong?

"Did I take the wind out of your sails, Major?"

"No."

_Great. Now he sounded like he was pouting._

"I guess you should get to the jumper bay then."

"Yeah."

He started to walk past her.

"But before you go."

He stops just as he was shoulder to shoulder with Weir.

"I wanted to let you know that I was the one that asked for Teyla's things to be searched, not Bates. So there's no need for you put any extra force behind your blows the next time you two are in the gym sparring. If you want to stay angry at someone, then fine. Be angry at me."

In the back of his head, Sheppard knew that Bates would never have done anything that invasive without talking to Weir first. He wasn't really that surprised at what she had just told him. He was done being angry. It wasn't in his nature to hold a grudge.

"Are you saying you'd like to spar with me, Doctor?" he says with smirk.

This earns him a broad smile from Weir.

"Anytime, Major."

He grins back at her and walks off towards the Jumper bay. He's in a much better mood than he was ten minutes ago. Arguing with Weir was never a fun experience and he was starting to enjoy seeing her smile. She had enough to frown about with his adding to it.

Sheppard finds Teyla waiting for him and he apologizes for being late. They are soon in the air, flying quickly towards the mainland.


	2. Teyla

**Conversations, Chapter 2**

It was about half way through their flight to the mainland before Teyla asks Sheppard a question he wasn't expecting.

"May I ask why you are angry with Dr. Weir?"

"Huh? I'm not mad at her."

"When you were not in the Jumper bay, I went to your quarters to search for you. I overhead you raise your voice in anger at Dr. Weir."

John winces. He hopes nobody else heard that. It's never good to hear one superior yelling at another.

"How much did you hear?"

"I did not wish to listen in on a private conversation and returned to the bay to wait for you."

"We did have a small argument. But it's okay now."

She's quiet for a moment and he thinks that she's done asking questions.

"May I ask why you _were_ angry with Dr. Weir?"

"It's been a rough few days Teyla."

"But is it not I who have cause to be angry with Dr. Weir?"

He throws a quick glance in her direction.

"Are you? I mean, angry at her?"

"While I did not like being the focus of suspicion, I hold no ill feeling towards Dr. Weir. She was merely trying to protect those she brought to Atlantis. I, above all, understand that responsibility. It often requires that we do things we do not wish to. The evidence was difficult to ignore. I must admit that even I started to question my role in the Wraith ambushes."

"You know, she asked for your things to be searched."

"I am aware of that. She came to my living quarters and requested them from me."

"She did?" He hadn't thought of that. He had jumped to the assumption that they had taken her things without permission. He really was being a jackass.

"Of course. Dr. Weir well understands her role as leader. She would never delegate a task she was not willing to do herself."

"You really like Dr. Weir, don't you?"

"I respect and admire her greatly. My people and I had no choice but to leave our world and come to Atlantis. Dr. Weir, on the other hand, chose to leave her home voluntarily and take on the responsibility of protecting those whose only connection to her was their willingness to follow her into another galaxy."

"She is a pretty amazing woman."

He didn't see Teyla smile at the pride in his voice.

"So may I ask why you were angry at Dr. Weir?"

John sighed. He could see that she wasn't going to drop this.

"I didn't like how they were treating you and other Athosians. I didn't think it was fair that they automatically assumed you were the traitor. It made me angry that she allowed the interrogations and accusations to go so far."

"I appreciate your confidence that I was not a traitor."

"You're welcome."

"But did you not have confidence that Dr. Weir would not allow an injustice to occur?"

Yeah. She had him on that. John _should_ have known that Weir would require incontrovertible proof before letting anything happen to Teyla. He didn't have an answer for that.

Luckily, he didn't need one because they were coming up to the mainland. It looked like most of the Athosians were waiting for them on the designated landing area for the jumpers. The Athosians had been busy since moving to the mainland. They had set up shelters and looked like they were about to start planting crops. Sheppard could also see the members of the Atlantis team who had agreed to help the Athosians get settled.

He couldn't ignore the fact that everyone looked really happy.


	3. John

**Conversations, Chapter 3**

Major John Sheppard is walking around one of the lower levels of Atlantis. Not too many people venture down there and he wants some time alone to think.

He had spent the night on the mainland with the Athosians, but came back very early this morning when one of the Atlantis team members had burned himself and needed to come back to base. He could have gotten a few more hours of sleep in his quarters, but there was still something was bugging him about the conflict of the past week. He knew Elizabeth walked around a lot when she needed to think, so he thought he'd give it a try.

_Okay. So what's bugging you?_

_Everyone here thinks there's something going on between Teyla and me._

_Cut to the chase Sheppard. You know everyone thinks you're sleeping together._

_But we're not._

_Why the hell not?_

That question he didn't have an answer to. Teyla was one of the most attractive women he'd ever met. They had connected in the first second of knowing each other. But that connection was turning more into a brother-sister friendship than anything else. Their friendship was important to him.

_That's never stopped you before._

Which was true. He'd ruined a good number of friendships in the past for women much less attractive than Teyla. But this was different. They were in another galaxy with very few friends and couldn't afford to lose the ones they had. Maybe that was it.

_Maybe you're just getting old._

_Maybe I just need more than a warm body next to me in bed to make me happy._

_Uh-oh. Is that maturity I see? Next thing I know, you'll be talking about spending the rest of your life with someone._

Maybe he was getting old because that really didn't sound too bad. Maybe seeing what had happened to Sumner and then having that bug stuck in his neck had put things in perspective. He knew it sounded cliché, but maybe he needed more than just attraction these days to define a relationship.

_I can hear all my ex-girlfriends laughing now. _

He hadn't really dated around too much back on Earth. But he was a pilot and flyboys did have a reputation to uphold. He'd had his share of women and more than a few had wanted something more than a fling. But until now, he hadn't been ready to invest in anything long term. And even now he wasn't 100% sure what he wanted.

_What do you want?_

He wanted to know what it felt like to be madly in love with someone. To have someone in his life he would do anything for. Someone he longed to see first thing in the morning and be his last thought at night. He wanted that little sizzle when they touched. The bang when they...

"Umph!"

"Oh!

John suddenly finds himself staring up at the ceiling.

_Well that was actually more of a crash than a bang._

He looks down to see his legs tangled up with another pair of slim, definitely female legs. His eyes follow them up to a pair of running shorts and then to the rest of a sweaty looking Elizabeth Weir. He's about to make an un-funny quip about literally running into her when she sits up and rubs the back of her head.

"Ow."

He is up and crouching next to her in a flash. He somehow managed to keep from hitting his head during the fall, but she had clearly hit hers. The floors of Atlantis were beautiful. The scientist hadn't figured out exactly what the material was, but it looked and felt like marble. All in all, not a good surface to be smacking your head against.

"You okay?"

Her eyes are closed in pain, but she opens one eye to look up at him.

"Fancy running into you down here."

He throws his head back and laughs at that. He looks back down to see her grinning at him with both her eyes open this time. Hey eyes look clear so he knows that she's not severely hurt.

"You must have hit your head pretty hard to be making bad jokes like that."

"You only wish you would have said it first."

Knowing that the floor must be a little cold in just a pair of running shorts, John stands and helps her up. She stands, but isn't quite steady on her feet. He was expecting that and is prepared when she sways toward him. His hands move from her elbows to her waist as he steadies her.

"Whoa there."

John is suddenly very aware that this is one of the few times he has seen her out of the standard uniform. In those running shorts and sports top, her waist looks impossibly small for someone that's almost as tall as him. Her cheeks are flushed from her run and she looks a little less poised than she normally does. Her lips part slightly as she looks up at him with wide eyes. With his hands on her waist and hers lightly gripping his forearms, all he needs to do is pull her a little closer...

"Thanks."

Elizabeth takes a step back, moving away from his embrace and he suddenly feels a little colder than he did earlier.

"My pleasure."

They stand there, a few feet apart, wondering what the hell that was and how they can get out of this uncomfortable situation. Sheppard recovers first.

"Are you sure your head's okay? We could take you over to Beckett. I know he's up anyway."

"No!"

Her response was a little too fast for him to ignore.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of the infirmary, are you?"

His smile gets wider when she blushes.

"Of course not. But I'm fine. There's really no need for me to see Beckett."

"If you say so."

The twinkle in his eyes tells her that this isn't the last she's going to hear about this.

"I'm just going to go back to my quarters."

Weir turns and walks away quickly, but Sheppard jogs to catch up with her.

"At least let me make sure you get back okay."

"That's really not necessary Major."

"It's no problem."

He can see her roll her eyes and it only makes his grin wider.

"If you insist."

"Oh, I insist."

Weir glances over at him and he flashes her one of his killer smiles. He's had women walk across crowded bars to meet him with just that smile. She only shakes her head and keeps walking. But he saw her eyes widen a little in surprise, so he knows he got some reaction.

They don't say anything else for the rest of the walk to her quarters. When they get there, she walks through the open door, turns, and finds him leaning against the doorway.

"Thank you."

"Like I said earlier, my pleasure."

John takes a quick step forward and reaches out to touch the back of Elizabeth's head. She can't hide her grimace of pain when he finds the tender area. He slowly moves his hand to lightly rest against the side of her neck. She's left breathless by the true concern reflected in his eyes.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the infirmary and get that checked out?"

"I'm sure." She gives him a small smile meant to reassure him.

"Okay. But promise that you'll go if you get dizzy again."

"I promise."

He drops his arm and walks backward through the door. He flashes her another smile and a shiver runs through her. He just catches a glimpse of her wrapping her arms around herself as the door closes. Turning away from the closed door, he starts to whistle happily on the way to get a few more hours of sleep.

He knows what he wants now. And he's nothing if not persistent.


End file.
